How to Set Up WLED on an ESP32 With an Addressable LED Strip
Full wiring diagram, power budget for 30 to 300 LEDs, the 330Ω data resistor, Home Assistant pairing, and the five mistakes that permanently damage boards.
🛠 Tutorials · DIY Electronics
DIY Electronics Tutorials for Hobbyists
Start at the wiring fundamentals and work up to addressable LED projects. Every guide includes real power math, the mistakes that damage hardware, and no code you cannot follow.
What You Need to Know First
- No prior experience required for the beginner path. You need a breadboard, some jumper wires, and about $20 of parts.
- Every guide states its difficulty and lists exact parts with real costs, so you can buy once and build without guessing.
- Power math is the part that matters. Nearly every LED project fails on current, not on code — so every guide here shows the calculation.
Start Here: ESP32 & Addressable LEDs
Coming Next
These are the planned tutorials in build order. Each one is written to stand alone, so you can follow one without having read the others.
Understanding Voltage, Current, Resistance and Ohm's Law
Why an LED strip that works on USB sometimes does not work on a wall adapter, and how to size a supply without guessing. This is the single tutorial that prevents most beginner hardware damage.
How to Read a Schematic and Wire a Breadboard Correctly
From symbols to a working circuit. Common ground, power rails, pull-up and pull-down resistors, and why your circuit works on a breadboard but not when you solder it.
ESP32 vs ESP8266 vs Arduino: Which Board Should You Buy?
A direct comparison of GPIO count, RAM, power draw, Wi-Fi reliability, and price — so you buy the right board once instead of accumulating the wrong three.
WS2812B vs SK681B vs Analog Strips: Which LED Strip Should You Buy?
Colour accuracy, brightness, price per metre, and cut points. Includes a side-by-side of what each chip actually looks like on camera.
How to Wire and Code a PIR Motion Sensor with an ESP32
The first sensor project. Covers 3.3V versus 5V output traps, debouncing, and wiring a relay so a real light actually switches.
Reading Temperature and Humidity with a DHT22 on an ESP32
Including the DHT22's well-known library reliability problems, the I2S-versus-I2C confusion, and a stable alternative worth using instead.
How to Control Relays Safely from an ESP32
Why driving a relay coil directly from a GPIO damages the pin, the flyback diode that prevents it, and how to size for inductive loads.
Getting Started with MQTT and Home Assistant on an ESP32
Publishing your first sensor reading, choosing a broker, and why MQTT beats polling for small DIY projects.
How These Tutorials Differ From Product Reviews
Everything under Reviews answers "is this product worth buying, and can it make money". Everything here under Tutorials answers "how do I build this myself". They are different questions with different sources, and mixing them produces content that satisfies neither.
- Reviews cite bench measurements, price, and a profit model. The $2 Relay Module is a good example.
- Tutorials cite wiring practice, current draw, and failure modes. The WLED setup guide is a good example.
Both share the same zero-attribution policy: no influencer or competitor attribution, and no claims without a measurement behind them.
📅 Last updated: September 2026